


I'd send a postcard to you dear cuz I wish you were here

by crystalklances



Series: Of purple splatters and first words [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Canon Compliant, M/M, spoilers for s4ep1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 08:25:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12361620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalklances/pseuds/crystalklances
Summary: Two soulmates dealing with the distance brought by one of them pulling away from the team





	I'd send a postcard to you dear cuz I wish you were here

**Author's Note:**

> Already yesterday after watching the season, I was inspired to write some angst for the beginning of the season, set in my soulmates verse. I decided against writing more than that, even though that means it is a _lot_ shorter than A Mark out of this World.
> 
> Title is not directly related, but Vanilla Twilight by Owl City came up on shuffle while I was on a walk in between finishing this piece. I listened to it three times, as it is one of my favorite songs and it fits the mood perfectly. I picked this part of the lyrics as it felt the best to me.

Lance sighed as he laid down on the bed.

Things had started out so well after they had figured it out. Sure, it had also been rough, considering Keith going on that dangerous mission, then Shiro missing after they defeated Zarkon, the struggle of finding a new Black Paladin and the Red and Blue Paladins being swapped as well, Lotor showing up at the same time …

But at least, Lance had still been close to Keith, had become even _closer_ as his right-hand man, helping him grow into the role as leader. Talking about each other’s worries regarding their place on the team.

Now, though, Lance barely got to see his soulmate. Ever since Lotor had stopped making movements without a trace, Keith had started to go on missions with the Blade of Marmora. Sometimes, he was gone for days at a time, even though the team needed him to help gather allies and support the rebellion.

The only thing that Lance could do to stop himself from worrying and feeling frustrated about Keith’s absence was to throw himself completely into the parades and other activities related to forming the coalition.

Not that that did much; it was painfully obvious how lost in his place he was without Keith around. Not just because they were soulmates, but because they complemented each other well. And whenever Lance was alone with his thoughts like now, well, his thoughts went back to how he missed Keith.

He stared up at the ceiling, rubbing at his right forearm, where his soulmark was. The purple splatters on his skin had made everything complicated, so when he and Keith had finally figured out they really _were_ soulmates, Lance had been so happy. But now, it was almost like they were back to square one. Except it felt worse because Lance knew who his soulmate was, but they couldn’t be together.

Maybe he should ask Shiro for advice. After all, Shiro knew what it was like to be separated from his soulmate. Even though he had Allura, he didn’t know where his first soulmate was. But Lance would feel awkward to talk about it. Even though Shiro had been his hero for a while, he knew that there was a distance between them, a distance that made it difficult for Lance to talk to him openly.

Lance sighed again and eventually turned to face the wall, nuzzling his face into the pillow and pulling the blanket over his head. He found comfort in the fact that it smelled faintly of Keith. Of course, that wasn’t surprising, considering this was Keith’s room. But it was still nice to find his scent here, even though Keith had been gone for two days again.

Finally, Lance fell asleep, Keith’s scent in his nose and imagining that his soulmate was here, holding him in his arms.

 

***

 

It was the middle of the night when Keith returned from the mission. He was glad about the time of arrival because it meant he was able to avoid confrontation with anyone else. He wouldn’t have to deal with any lectures or disappointed stares. Wouldn’t have to think of excuses and reasons for why he never had time for anyone, why he kept being late for activities.

He walked into his room, ready to throw himself onto the bed, still wearing the Marmora uniform and all. But he stopped in his tracks when he took a look at his bed. A breathy, barely audible sigh left his lips, and he smiled despite himself. He didn’t need to see under the blanket to know that the curled up lump belonged to Lance. Despite wishing to avoid everyone’s reaction, at this moment, his soulmate was the one exception.

Keith stripped out of the suit and armor, then after a brief second put on the red paladin pajamas provided by the castle ship. This was a thing only reserved for nights he spent together with Lance.

Finally, he carefully pulled the blanket away so he could slip into bed next to Lance. Seeing how curled up on himself his soulmate was made his heart sink. It made him want nothing more than to protect Lance.

Except Keith knew that _he_ was the one causing this.

It had happened a few times before, that he found Lance asleep in his bed when he returned at night, from a mission that lasted longer than he initially thought it would. He didn’t have to be Pidge to do the math—it was easy to see that it meant that Lance missed him.

Keith would be lying if he said he didn’t miss Lance, as well. Whenever there was a close call, whenever he did something reckless, a moment later he couldn’t help but think, “I can’t die now, not when Lance is waiting for me.” He had to make it out alive both for the sake of the universe and to be with his soulmate again when everything was over.

It may hurt to distance himself like that after they had only been together for a short time, when Keith _knew_ that he felt so much more stable with Lance. But keeping his distance from the entire team was the only way he could think of, when he didn’t even want to be the leader. The Blade gave him a purpose, and he was growing into the role, was growing to be a valuable member. And besides, the Blade was running short on members and Keith _was_ part Galra, so it was only natural for him to take the job.

But not only that, he was working actively on trying to track Lotor, when Voltron was instead doing nothing but gather allies. Sure, that might be necessary as well, but they _had_ to find a lead to Lotor’s whereabouts, his plan. That was the only way to end this. And once that was achieved, the universe would be safe. Keith would finally be able to be with his soulmate without feeling so torn about his place in the world, on the team; without feeling guilty because he was supposed to fight, not sit around cuddling. Without being scared that luck would finally leave him, and Lance would be ripped away from him one way or another, just like every other good thing in his life.

At least, that’s what Keith hoped. The fear was why he pulled away from everyone, first; he’d rather be the one leaving them behind, working actively for the sake of the universe, than having to lose them. Especially Lance.

Keith pulled Lance as close as he could without risk of waking him up. Under the blanket, he searched for Lance’s hands, gently loosening the grip on the sheets so he could link their fingers instead.

Lance sighed in his sleep, and for a heart-stopping moment, Keith worried he was about to wake up. But Lance’s breathing stayed even. Keith sucked in a breath.

He nuzzled his nose against the soft hair in the back of Lance’s neck, feathering a kiss on it, taking in his scent.

He knew he shouldn’t do this because it would just make things harder later on, but for now, he indulged himself in being with Lance, falling asleep more easily holding him in his arms.

 

***

 

When Lance woke up, the first thing he was aware of was the warm body pressed against his back, the arms wrapped around him, fingers intertwined with his. The arms were placed right around Lance’s stomach, not too close to his abdomen, nor too close to his chest. Lance smiled as he blinked his eyes open. There was only one thing this could mean. Keith was back. And this time, Lance was awake early enough to savor it.

He turned around slowly, careful not to wake his soulmate. He linked their fingers again, and with his other hand, he reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Keith’s ear.

Keith looked so peaceful in his sleep, but there was still an air of sadness around him.

Lance wished he could help Keith, find out what was bothering him, but if Keith didn’t want to talk, then Lance couldn’t push him. After all, he knew what it was like to want to hide your feelings and worries.

He stayed like this, in Keith’s arms, nuzzling his face into the crook of Keith’s neck. Taking in his scent and the way his breathing was even, his hair tickling against Lance’s face.

Eventually, there was a soft groan as Keith stirred awake. Lance pulled away to smile at his soulmate whose nose was scrunched up slightly just before he blinked his eyes open.

Keith found Lance’s gaze and a hint of a smile formed on his lips. “Hey.” His voice was heavy with sleep.

“Good morning,” Lance murmured. “Slept well?”

Keith hummed. “Yeah, I guess.”

Lance was about to open his mouth to suggest cuddling just a little while longer, but Keith pulled away to get out of bed. Lance tried to mask the hurt on his face when Keith looked down at him. He wasn’t sure if he just imagined the flash of regret and guilt before Keith turned away.

“Sorry,” Keith said into the room. “I have to meet with Kolivan to talk about the mission we just finished.”

“Of course,” Lance said softly. “Important stuff.”

“Yeah. Important stuff.”

Lance watched as Keith got dressed. When he was done and opened the door, Keith stopped for a second, but he didn’t turn around before he finally left.

Lance held back a frustrated sob as he pulled the blanket all the way over his head again. He didn’t want to face the day like this.

 

The worst part was the final separation when Keith said farewell to the team to go on a big mission with the Blade. There wasn’t even a chance for a moment alone, just the two of them, like when Keith left before the fight against Zarkon. Of course Lance knew that the rest of the team would miss Keith just as much. But he still wished he could have said goodbye with a kiss, a kiss that could just as well be their last. But all he got was a group hug and Keith giving one last smile at the group before his face turned sad as he left.

Lance sighed as he stared out into space, gently rubbing his soulmark.

He couldn’t let this keep dragging down his mood. He had to stay strong, for the rest of the team as well. He had to pour his heart into helping to build the coalition, helping to prepare the rebellion for more fights. He had to be a worthy right-hand man to their new-old leader Shiro.

And … didn’t they say that distance makes the heart grow fonder? If it was true, then they both would come back together with a stronger bond when all of this was over.

He had to believe that they would both make it out of this alive, that they all would. So that they could build a future in times of peace for the universe, together.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [twitter](http://twitter.com/crystalklances) and [tumblr](http://crystalklances.tumblr.com)


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